Food allergy diagnosis

In the recent past great efforts to improve food allergy diagnosis have been undertaken. By the use of DNA technology more than 50 food allergens have been produced in the recombinant form. 

Asero, R., Ballmer-Weber, B. K., Beyer, K., Conti, A., Dubakiene, R., Fernandez-Rivas, M., et al. (2007). IgE-Mediated food allergy diagnosis Current status and new perspectives. Mol. Nutr. Food Res. 51,135-147. 

Moneret-Vautrin DA (2002). [Food allergy diagnosis]. Allerg. Immunol (Paris), 34 241-244. 

Sampson, H. A., Food allergy. Part 2 Diagnosis and management. J. Allergy Clin. Immunol., 103, 981, 1999. 

Morris DL Use of sublingual antigen in diagnosis and treatment of food allergy. Ann Allergy 1969 27 289-294. 

Contin-Bordes, C., Petersen, A., Chahine, I., Boralevi, F., Chahine, H., Taieb, A., Sarrat, A., Moreau, J.F., and Taupin, J.L. 2007. Comparison of ADVIA Centaur and Pharmacia UniCAP tests in the diagnosis of food allergy in children with atopic dermatitis. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 18(7) 614—620. 

Allergy testing is a very important prerequisite for specific allergy treatment. Proper diagnosis will allow the patient to receive the knowledge of the offending foods to avoid unnecessary dietary restrictions when a suspected food allergy is not present. 

From the doctor s point of view, it is the patient who makes the diagnosis of food allergy when the mechanism is IgE-mediated, since the time interval between ingestion and allergic reaction is short. 

Some authors propose to use the combination of PST, slgE, and patch testing in the diagnosis of food allergy in infants (Isolauri and Turjanmaa, 1999 Vanto et al., 1999 Roehr et al., 2001) (Table 3.3.7). 

A patient with serum food allergy-specific IgE in excess of the 95% predictive value may be considered reactive and an oral food challenge would not be warranted. A patient with a food allergen-specific IgE levels less than 95% predictive value may be reactive but would require a food challenge to confirm the diagnosis (Sampson and Ho, 1997 Sampson, 1999a, 2001 Bock, 2003) (Table 3.3.9). 

The rational selection and interpretation of diagnostic tests require an appreciation for the utility of the tests themselves and evaluation of the level of certainty required for the diagnosis of food allergy (Chapman et al., 2006). 

Bahna, S.L. 2003. Diagnosis of food allergy. Ann Allergy Asthma Immunol 90 77-80. 

Brostoff, J. and Challacombe, S.J. 2002. Food Allergy and Intolerance. Part IV Clinical Diagnosis of Food Allergy and Intolerance. Saunders, London. 

Niggemann, B., Wahn, U., and Sampson, H.A. 1994. Proposals for standardization of oral food challenges in infants and children. Diagnosis of cow s milk and food allergy. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 5 11-13. 

Erdmann, S. M., N. Heussen, S. Moll-Slodowy, H. F. Merk, and B. Sachs. 2003. CD63 expression on basophils as a tool for the diagnosis of pollen-associated food allergy sensitivity and specificity. Clin Exp Allergy 33 (5) 607-614. 

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